Revenge and Destruction in Othello and The Tempest

A revenge play or revenge tragedy is a form of tragedy which was extremely popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. One of the best-known Shakespearean revenge tragedies is Othello and tragic comedy is The Tempest. And the most prominently occurring and important aspects of human nature that appear in Shakespeare’s work is the concept of revenge. The main idea of this essay is to show how Revenge leads to Destruction in Shakespearean plays – Othello and The Tempest. The crux of the thesis is ‘neither the avenger is benefited nor the victim’.

In William Shakespeare’s Othello we are taken on a journey with Iago whose thirst for revenge is the main cause for destruction in the play. Iago at one point in time compares himself with Cassio which provokes him to take revenge on Cassio. “If Cassio do remain he hath a daily beauty in his life, that makes me ugly” (V.1.19-20). “No, he must die” (V.1.23). “His two alleged wrongs are Cassio being promoted before him, and his own wife's suspected intimacy with Othello contributes to his qualities of being cruel and vengeful’[Canning, Albert Stratford George, 1907]. His demonic qualities can be perceived from the ambiguity of motives for vengeance that he provides and from his frequent references to the animalistic qualities in a man “Even now, now, very now an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (I.1.97-98). Iago uses animal imagery to show the comparison between Othello and the animals. This raises a serious question about the injustice that Othello has inflicted upon Iago that he deserves such vengeance, because normally there is no vengeance without a motive. “Numerous motives ranging from jealousy to hatred, and also an injured pride are the driving forces ...

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... same message after reading the play. “Through The Tempest, Shakespeare must have thought that his message, his warnings, would be better received by James' children than by James himself.” [Schajer.B, David, 2012]. It is maybe for this reason, Shakespeare put in the theme of magic and illusion to catch the eye of the children and make it more interesting for them so that they can get the message.

For Shakepearean audience and the modern audience, The Tempest would have been more interesting to watch as it has some entertainment in between scenes than in Othello. But in Othello, Shakespeare creates more interest to know more as it has some suspense hidden in it and the soliloquies of Iago create more effect on this suspense. In The Tempest, the reader is more interested in the magic of Prospero and comedy of the drunken sailors than the main theme of the play.